The Glory of Love
by Hermies818
Summary: It is a love story, theirs. More Densi One-Shots, based off of the song The Glory of Love from the 1967 movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Once again, I own nothing.
1. You've Got to Give a Little

**Kensi and Deeks's first Christmas together**

* * *

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly fa la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!" Deeks sang out, if somewhat off key, as he and Nell flung tinsel all over the large Douglas Fir that Hetty had gotten from god knows where and set in the middle of the office.

"Mister Deeks," Deeks gave a little start as Hetty suddenly materialized behind him. In all the years he'd been working here he'd never gotten used to her doing that. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I thought I was helping Nell trim the tree?"

"Yes, you most certainly are. But I was referring more to your singing."

"What? Hetty come on, tomorrow's Christmas. Let me sing my carols!" He complained.

Hetty gave him a small smile. "Why don't we leave that to a professional?" She suggested. No sooner had the word left her lips than the sounds of Frank Sinatra singing "Winter Wonderland" filled the air.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Eric called from the stairs, a Santa hat on his head and mistletoe in his hand. He winked at Nell who scurried over to give her fiancée a kiss. "Thanks for the album Hetty."

"Just take good care of it and see that you return it to me undamaged Mr. Beal. Frank gave that to me on our first Christmas together." Her face took on a look of both nostalgia and smug satisfaction. Deeks shook his head and was about to return to the task at hand when he felt a slender pair of arms wrap around his midsection.

"Looks like Santa came early this year." He joked as he turned around to give his wife of 6 months a proper welcome. "I'd kiss you but Eric stole the mistletoe."

Kensi grinned. "Too bad, because I put on flavored lip gloss just for you."

Deeks's eyebrows went up, making Kensi laugh as he kissed her.

"Hey, hey, hey! What did we agree on?" Sam told them as he and Callen walked in. "No PDA at work."

"Oh, that's not PDA. This is." Deeks smirked before he began to make out with Kensi in front of Sam. Sam groaned and walked back towards his desk, trying to ignore them as best he could.

"You know what this is?" Deeks asked her once they separated.

"No, what?"

"This is our first Christmas together. I mean really together, you know? As husband and wife." He smiled softly, his eyes full of love. Kensi just smiled and pulled him in close, relishing in the feeling of him pressed up against her and the unfamiliar yet comforting smell of the Christmas tree.

Sam watched the two of them for a minute before making a silent motion to G for them to vacate the premises, leaving Kensi and Deeks alone in the room that was awash in afternoon sun.

"So, I know that I should wait until tonight to give this to you, but I don't want to wait that long." Deeks grinned, his eyes dancing, before reaching under the tree for a long, red, slender box with a white bow tied around it. "Merry Christmas Fern."

Kensi smiled softly as she gently undid the ribbon and lifted the lid to reveal a silver pendant with a photo of the two of them in it. Flipping it over, she remembered all of the reasons why she loved him as she read the small inscription. She carefully took the necklace out of the box and handed it to her husband, wordlessly asking him to put it on her. She smiled as she felt the cool metal touch her neck, followed by his warm breath.

"I mean it Kens," He muttered softly in her ear. "It is a love story, ours."

From her vantage point, unseen by the pair, Henrietta Lang smiled into her tea. A Merry Christmas indeed.

* * *

**Take a Little**


	2. Take a Little

**Stealing clothes from each other**

* * *

It started small. Innocently even. She'd fallen asleep at his place and then they both were called in and, in her slightly disoriented state, she'd happened to grab one of his sweatshirts. It was the blue one with UCLA stamped across the front, the one he liked to wear when he went jogging in the hills. She hadn't even realized she had it until later that week when she was cleaning out her go bag and then never really got around to giving it back to him. Plus, she found she liked wearing it when she slept. It smelled good, like a mixture of the sea and the cologne she gave him for Christmas. Then there was the whole "Touching Wood" t-shirt incident when he'd neglected to take the shirt back from her. Now it lived alongside the sweatshirt in the bottom drawer of her nightstand. She would pull it out every time she needed to smile and for whatever reason he wasn't there. She'd also accumulated two more of his t-shirts, a button down, and what she was fairly certain was his only tie.

Meanwhile, Deeks had been busy building his own collection of Kensi's clothing. His first piece was still his favorite, it was the black, low cut tank top she'd been wearing when they'd first met. The moment where he thought he'd been 100% screwed because he'd been undercover and the second he saw her, his heart had skipped a beat. So when he found it crumpled on the floor in the dumpster that was her apartment he "borrowed" it, for old time's sake. Also for old time's sake was a top he'd accidentally gone home with from when they'd gone undercover as Melissa and Justin. It let him fantasize what it might be like, if he was a different boy and she was a different girl, the life that could have been. Those two were his favorites out of the small collection of other odds and ends he'd gathered over the years.

They'd both meant to give all of them back, really they did, but every time he pulled out the black tank top or she pulled out the sweatshirt all of the memories and the feelings attached to each article came rushing back and they would find that they didn't want to part with them, not yet. If they couldn't have the originals, then these would have to do for now.

They had been officially going out for a little over a month when Kensi decided it was time to liquidate the collection.

"I have something for you." She told him as she carried a cardboard box into his apartment and set it on the coffee table before plopping down on his couch.

"Aw Fern, you shouldn't have." He joked as he sat next to her and opened the box, pulling out some of the clothes. "What's all this?"

"These are the clothes that, one way or another, came into my possession that belong to you." She announced as she pulled out the sweatshirt, at the sight of which his eyes lit up.

"My UCLA sweatshirt!" He exclaimed as he took it from her. "I haven't seen this thing in forever, I was wondering where it went!" He sniffed it. "Why does it smell like sunshine and gunpowder?"

"I may have been sleeping in it." She blushed. He grinned and inhaled deeply before kissing her.

"Hold on one second." He told her as he disappeared into his bedroom, returning a few seconds later with a box of his own.

"You did it for me so I thought I should return the favor." He said as he set his box down next to the other one. "Recognize any of these?"

"Oh my god! Look at all this stuff. I thought I lost these!" Kensi gushed as she started pulling things from the box.

"How can you tell in your apartment?" Deeks made a face only to be wacked on the arm.

"Watch it." She ordered as her hand felt a familiar article of clothing. Pulling it out slowly she stared at the crumpled black tank top.

"That one's actually my favorite." He told her softly as he scooted close and wrapped his arm around her. Kensi just smiled as she rubbed the material with her finger, remembering the last time she wore it.

"You know." Deeks spoke up after a few minutes, picking up the sweatshirt. "I haven't worn this thing in so long, I don't really have a need for it anymore. Why don't you keep it?"

Kensi smiled at him and shook her head. "No."

"No?"

"I mean," She rolled her eyes and smiled. "No, because I don't need it anymore. I have you now."

"Yeah you do Fern." He smiled and kissed her as they sat back and just stared at the boxes, thinking of how far they had come and how far they would go together.

* * *

**And Let Your Poor Heart Break a Little**


	3. And Let Your Poor Heart Break a Little

**Deeks and Kensi reunite**

* * *

"Kensi?" The all too familiar voice called. She slowly turned to see him standing there, older now but still the same man.

"Hey Deeks." She said quietly as she studied him. He looked good, he'd taken care of himself.

"You look good."

"Thanks." He smiled that smile she'd missed so much. "So do you."

He remembered the last time he'd seen her. It had been on this beach, roughly around the same time too, with the sun sinking into the waves. She looked just as beautiful then as she did now, with her hair tumbling down her back in the same messy, unkempt way. In a lot of ways it was almost like nothing had changed.

But things had changed. It had been over five years since the day they'd last seen each other and, in that span, time had passed and lives had to be lead.

"You still at NCIS?" He asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, Callen took over once Hetty retired. Can you believe that?"

"I know, I always thought that she'd be there until we died." He chuckled and she did too.

"How about you? Still diving into dumpsters for the LAPD?"

"Yeah well, some things never change."

Before she could respond, a little girl with blonde curls came running up to Deeks, dog in tow.

"Daddy, MJ want ice cream."

"Oh he does, does he?" Deeks smiled and knelt down to the little five year old.

"Yes, and mommy said that he could have some if you said yes so can he?"

"Hmm, I have a better idea." Deeks whispered something in her ear that made the little girl's face light up.

_Deeks how could you do this to me?_

_It was a mistake Kens, a stupid drunken mistake!_

With a laugh the little girl went racing off, leaving Kensi and Deeks to an awkward silence.

"What did you tell her?" She asked after a minute.

"I said that MJ looked full but that she could ask mommy if she could have his ice cream."

"MJ?" Kensi looked at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Monty Jr." Deeks explained to which Kensi nodded and smiled. He always was good with kids.

"She looks good Deeks." She offered. "What's her name?"

"Rachel." At her raised eyebrow he explained. "Her mom was a big Friends fan."

Kensi smiled and looked past him. "You're gonna have your hands full when she starts noticing boys."

"Don't remind me." He groaned.

_So what are you going to do?_

_I don't see what else I can do Kens._

"How about you and your FBI guy? Any…"

Kensi shook her head. "No. We tried but, uh, no luck." She shrugged, keeping any pain she felt about that on the inside.

Just like always though, he saw right through that. "What about adoption?"

Kensi just shook her head. "Hank was never all that crazy about the idea of kids in the first place and, you know, neither was I."

"Oh Fern." He said sympathetically. Kensi had to bite back sudden tears at the once all too familiar nickname.

"Haven't heard that name in a long time." She told him softly.

He looked down, shame written all over his face. The silence returned.

"Daddy come on!" Rachel reappeared and started tugging at him.

"In a second sweetie, daddy's just…"

"No, no you should go." Kensi took a deep breath and smiled. "Sounds like someone needs their ice cream."

Deeks smiled before he picked up Rachel. "Rachel, this is your Aunt Kensi."

"Hello." The little girl said with a big grin, obviously not shy at all. "Can we go get ice cream now?"

Deeks kissed her on the nose before setting her down. As they turned to leave, Deeks looked back at her.

"You know, I love Rachel. I've never once regretted having her."

"I know Deeks."

"I just regret what it cost." He smiled at her sadly. "Goodbye Fern." He said softly before he turned and walked down the beach, hand in hand with his daughter.

As she watched him go, Kensi felt her heart break all over again.

"Goodbye Max."

* * *

**That's The Story Of**


	4. That's the Story of I

**Deeks tells his daughter how her parents met.**

* * *

"Hey dad?" Kate asked as she walked into her father's office. "Question."

"Answer, maybe. What do you need Katy Kat?" Deeks smiled at his now 16 year old daughter. It was almost impossible to believe that the little bundle they placed into his arms in the hospital had grown up into the beautiful, strong, intelligent almost a woman that she was now.

"Ok, one, I told you never to call me that." Kate said, giving him a look that, according to her grandmother, she had inherited from her mom. "And two, you know how we went to Uncle Sam's vow renewals last week?"

"Sure." He nodded.

"Well they did that whole slide show about how Uncle Sam and Aunt Michelle met, through work and being partners and all that. Did you and mom meet like that?" She asked.

"Not exactly, but we were partners. Are you sure you haven't heard this story?" Deeks asked her.

"I've heard the fake one you and mom use for the people who don't know where you work." Kate told him as she plopped herself down in an armchair across from him. "Come on, tell me."

"I don't know Kate." Deeks smirked. "You sure you can handle it?"

"Dad, I train taekwondo with Uncle Sam, I can almost out shoot Uncle Callen, and Nana's been teaching me some of her spy tricks, I can handle it." Kate rolled her eyes.

Deeks chuckled and shook his head, she was her mother's daughter alright.

"Well, first off, it wasn't quite as clear cut as Uncle Sam and Aunt Michelle. They had it easier, sort of. See, unlike the two of them, your mom was taken with me from the moment we first met."

"Seriously?"

"Oh yeah. We actually met outside of work first. Call it a lucky coincidence."

"But you both worked for NCIS?"

"Not yet." Deeks shook his head. "And technically, I still don't." He reminded her, to which he received a scoff and an eye roll.

"Close enough, keep going."

"Well, like I said. Your mother was head over heels in love with me from the second we met. Then when we met up again on a case and one thing lead to another, fast forward a few years, we're having you and Jamie."

"Yeah but what else happened in between that. Come on, I want all the juicy little details."

"Aren't teenaged girls supposed to loath their parents?" Deeks grinned.

"Aren't most parent's supposed to tell their kids how they met? Besides, Dana said that her parents say your relationship was kind of annoying."

"Then Dana needs to tell Uncle Sam to keep his opinions to himself." Deeks mumbled under his breath. "Anyway, I was with someone else when we first met."

"Wait." Kate's eyes lit up. "With or 'with'?"

Deeks smiled at her. "Moving on. It turned out that, when we first met, we were both undercover working the same case. When that case wrapped up, Hetty approached me and offered me a job as a consultant to the LAPD for NCIS."

"And that's where you and mom fell in love right?"

"Right from the start." Deeks nodded. "It was love at first sight."

"But I thought you and mom were partners before you got together. How long did that take?"

"It was…" Deeks trailed off, looking for the right words. "A process. Your mother and I have never been all that good at communication."

"Well duh!" His daughter rolled her eyes. "You two should hear yourselves in the car some time."

"When did you first know you loved mom?" Kate asked, her eyes starting to go all dreamy.

Deeks leaned back in his chair and knit his brow in thought. After a second of thought his mouth broke into a wide grin and he chuckled slightly.

"What?" His daughter looked at him, waiting intently for his answer.

"Nothing, just a trip down memory lane." Deeks shook his head. "The first time I absolutely knew for certain would probably be right after the first time we went undercover together. We had gone into a jewelry store posing as a couple looking for an engagement ring and I may have gotten a little, handsey." He flashed her a cheeky grin, letting that though sink into is daughters head.

"Oh my god, dad!" Kate shrieked, her face turning red. "I did not need to know that!"

"Hey, you asked." Deeks defended himself before continuing. "Anyway, as a result, your mother was not exactly happy with me later on."

"And that was when you knew you loved her?" Kate asked, eyebrow cocked.

Deeks nodded. "I realized how much I hated to see her unhappy, especially with me. Her anger made me start to fall in love with her."

"Your process sounds complicated."

"Oh yeah, very." Deeks agreed. But it did pay off eventually. After a while your mother and I made a go of it and then proceeded to populate the world with mutant ninja assassins fighting for justice." Deeks smiled. Kate looked at her father with a classic WTF look on her face before she let out a huff.

"Forget it, I'm just gonna ask mom." She said as she rose and stalked out of the room, leaving Deeks chuckling in his desk chair. "Trying to get a straight answer out of you is like asking Uncle Callen what his first name is!"

* * *

**That's the Glory of Love**


	5. That's that Glory of Love I

**Kensi and Deeks reflect on their relationship after a staggering loss**

* * *

For most, the world is already dangerous enough. Every day, whether we know it or not, each and every one of us constantly battles the theory of randomness that decides if you're going to be in a car accident or if you're going to fall down the stairs or if that lump on your breast really is cancer. Maybe the world would be easier to accept if less things were random, maybe something like that would make things like senseless death feel less painful.

* * *

Kensi sat there silently in the front pew, not really listening to the preacher. It didn't seem real, this shouldn't be happening. Neither of them had deserved this, it was absolute madness. Sitting to her left, with his hand tightly clenching hers, Deeks was thinking much the same thing. They had been so excited, they had been ready to start the next chapter of their lives and now they were just, gone.

Kensi looked past the preacher to the caskets that were adorned with flowers. Holly had been Kensi's best friend ever since college. They had been roommates who hated each other, Holly was perky and blonde and bubbly and Kensi was, not. Holly was from a rich, blue blooded family, Kensi had spent a year on the streets and considered herself an orphan. Holly's life was all planed out for her, Kensi was adrift and alone. But slowly, the walls had come down. Holly had been the first person Kensi had really confided in about her father while Kensi had been the one to help Holly find her own way, not the way that her parents had set out for her. They were the closest things to sisters ether of them had.

The next casket was for Marcus, Holly's husband. Marcus had been Deek's first, and best, partner, first working side by side at the DA's office before both making the switch to law enforcement. There were maybe five people in his life that Deeks could say he trusted with everything, three of them being Kensi and the other two spots belonging to Marcus. The first time Marcus had proved himself to Deeks was back at the DA's office when a client had pulled a gun on him. Without a second thought for himself Marcus tackled the man and proceeded to punch him in the face and sit on him until the police arrived. From that day forward, they weren't just best friends, they were partners.

Then just over a year ago, New York based Holly had flown in for a girl's weekend with Kensi who had invited her to a club with Deeks and Marcus. Sparks had flown that night and just over a month later, the two were married. Marcus had moved to New York with Holly, reasoning it would be easier for a decorated, highly respected LAPD detective to get a job with the NYPD then it would be for Holly to restart her design business from the ground up in LA. From then on it had been weekly phone calls, countless emails, and several weekend trips for the four of them, Marcus and Holly each prodding Kensi and Deeks when they would take the next big step in their relationship, marriage.

It was the final casket that neither Deeks nor Kensi could look at for very long. Unlike the other two, this one was much smaller, white while the other two were black, and was the most heart crushing of all. When Holly had found out she was pregnant, the news had both shocked and elated the group. After a horse accident when she was ten, Holly's parents had been told by doctors that she would most likely never have children of her own. But when she had missed her period, a total of six pregnancy tests confirmed it, she and Marcus were expecting. Both Kensi and Deeks had pressed the couple for the sex of the baby, but the happy couple had held out. It was their fairytale, they would do it their way.

Then the fairytale ended.

It had been just after two in the morning and 5 and a half months pregnant Holly was experiencing sharp pains in her abdomen. Marcus had called an ambulance but after waiting for almost 15 minutes, they decided to hail a cab. The cab had been crossing 2nd Avenue when a drunk driver ran a red light. Marcus had been pronounced DOA at the hospital while Holly had hung on for a few hours while doctors frantically tried to save her and her baby. Eventually, however, Holly died. The unnamed baby boy had died in the incubator two days later.

Kensi and Deeks were beyond shocked, they were shattered. These were two of the most important people in the world to them, this was unthinkable. They hadn't even consulted with Hetty before they had jumped on a plane for New York, only a hastily left phone message explaining their departure. Upon landing, messages from Hetty told them to take as much time as they needed.

Belatedly both Kensi and Deeks realized that the service had ended and that people were beginning to file out of the church. Deeks briefly looked around, shell shocked, before looking at his girlfriend who was just staring at the caskets, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over. Wordlessly he turned her face to his and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Give her something to let her know it will all be ok eventually." He thought but all he could manage was a small smile. They sat there for a few more minutes before Kensi cleared her throat and slowly rose. Deeks rose too and took her hand before slowly leading her out of the church.

Outside the day was beautiful, the sky was blue and the city humming.

"It's not fair, it should at least be cloudy or something." Deeks thought as he and Kensi stood outside the church, trying to figure out their next move.

"Lunch?" Kensi suggested, a deep breath revealing just how much she was trying to stay together.

Deeks nodded. "Katz?" It had been the place the four of them always went when they were in New York, being a quintessential tourist spot as well as being only a few blocks from Holly and Marcus's apartment. It just became their thing.

With a small smile, her first of the day, Kensi nodded and together, they walked arm and arm toward the deli.

* * *

**You've Got to Laugh a Little**


	6. You've Got to Laugh a Little

**Deeks cheers Kensi up on her dad's birthday**

* * *

She rued the day she gave him a key to her apartment. Everyone else knew that today was the day she didn't want to be bothered, her _mom_ even knew not to bother her today. All she wanted was to be alone. So why the hell could he not get that through his thick skull?

She covered her head with a pillow and let out a loud groan as he came barging into her bedroom.

"Wake up Kensilina. It's sunny and 75 outside, a beautiful day for the beach!" He bellowed as he tore into the room, opening the curtains and flooding the dark room in sunlight.

"Goddammit Deeks!" Kensi shouted. Well, more like groaned in pain and chucked a pillow at him but the intent was the same. "I don't want to go to the beach."

"Well that's ok, cause there's plenty to do out there. Come on, leaving in 5 minutes." He called as he moved from her room into the apartments small living room.

Kensi sighed and stumbled into the doorway.

"Get. Out." She said through clenched teeth. "Deeks, all I want to do today is be alone so please," she let out a sigh. "Please leave."

Deeks stopped moving around the apartment and looked at her softly. "I'm not going to leave Kens." He went to her and guided her over to the couch, sinking down next to her.

"Look. I get it. I get wanting to be alone on your dad's birthday. But I happen to know that being alone is the worst thing to be on days like this."

"Seems I've been fine for this long." She shrugged and looked down.

Deeks smiled and lifted her chin to look into her eyes. "Then don't you think it's time to stop being fine? Come on Kens, do something with me, your choice."

Kensi looked at him, searching his face for any sign of teasing or malice. Oh coarse she found none, she didn't know why she thought she'd find any. Reflex she supposed.

"My choice?" She asked.

He nodded. "100%."

* * *

"It had to be hiking." Deeks grumbled. "Shouldn't we stay on the path?" He called ahead to Kensi who, unlike him, didn't seem to have even broken a sweat.

"Paths are for sissies." She asserted, pausing for a second to assess where they were. "My dad always told me that real soldiers make their own way."

"Of course he did." Deeks panted and hurried to keep up. About half a mile up the mountain (or 15 miles, depending on who you were asking), Kensi and Deeks came to an overlook. From there they could see the most incredible mountain view Deeks had ever seen.

"Wow, what a view." Deeks panted as he caught up with Kensi. "Ok, I'll admit it, the hike was worth it for this."

But Kensi wasn't listening. Instead she was scanning the horizon until her eyes settled on her goal.

"There," she pointed at what looked like to Deeks to be the highest peak in the entire mountain range. "That's where I want to go." And without another word set off towards to mountain.

"Of course, why not? It's not like it's the highest peek in the chain." Deeks groaned inwardly.

"Keep up Deeks." Kensi called behind her without looking back.

"Yeah right." He muttered. All of a sudden he felt himself sliding.

"Woah, woah, woah, Kensi!" He cried before he felt himself falling, and falling, and falling.

With a string of obscenities that would make a marine blush, Deeks tumbled end over end down the hillside with no foreseeable end in sight. Kensi didn't even understand what was happening until the tumbling blur had passed her. Deeks's wild ride came to a stop when the hill side was broken up by a small mountain stream.

The first thing he felt was cold, then wet, then cold and wet. It took him a minute before he realized that he was laying on his back in the middle of the water.

Deeks sat up and looked around for Kensi, who was making her way towards him. Her hand was clamped over her mouth and her entire frame was shaking with barely concealed laughter.

"Are you ok?" She managed after a second, working hard to try and stop laughing.

"All good Fern." Deeks flashed her a smile and attempted to get back on his feet. He was caked in mud and his hair had several leaves and branches tangled in it. He probably looked like something from the black lagoon. Almost immediately he slipped again, falling with a loud splash back into the cold water. Kensi couldn't take it anymore and began howling with laughter, tears streaming down her face.

From where he landed, Deeks looked up at her and smiled. Mission accomplished.

* * *

**Cry a Little**


	7. Cry a Little

**Kensi and Deeks watch Titanic**

* * *

"What are we watching tonight?" Deeks asked after a long day found the two of them on the couch with her television and his beer.

"What's on?" Kensi asked as she sat down, bowl of popcorn in hand.

"Well we've got Top Model." He suggested as he flipped through the channels.

"Pass." Kensi said. Deeks raised an eyebrow. "Reruns." She explained.

"Ah, well we've got a creepy old movie with living dolls." Deeks shuddered at the screen.

"That's Babes in Toyland, it's a classic!" Kensi admonished. She looked at the dancing toys for a second. "Yeah you're right. What else you got?"

"Let's see." Deeks flipped back through the channels before stopping on a program featuring a scantily clad woman driving a Ferrari. "Hello."

Kensi looked disgusted. "No!"

"Oh my god I think I'm in love. Who is she? No, you know what? I don't even care. With a body like that who cares what she's called?" Deeks said, practically drooling at the screen.

"Give me that!" Kensi grabbed the remote and smacked him with it.

"Ow! I meant the car!"

"Uh huh, sure you did." Kensi responded before changing the channel to one very familiar old woman. "Yes!"

"Seriously Kens, Titanic again?" Deeks groaned. "You know, this movie made over a billion dollars at the box office. Why do I get the feeling around half of that is you?"

"Shut up before I shove that beer somewhere you don't want it." She glanced at him. "Or maybe you do, I don't judge."

"Funny Fern, really, very funny." Deeks deadpanned as Kensi shushed him.

"This is my favorite part!" Kensi admonished as the camera pulled close on a young Kate Winslet.

* * *

"I'll never let go." Rose whispered.

"You'll let go." Deeks deadpanned at the tv.

"Shut up!" Kensi ordered as she clutched the pillow tighter, her eyes misty.

"You know he could have survived. That board is plenty big enough." Deeks told her as he finished off the popcorn.

"It is not! Just watch the movie!"

Deeks just shook his head and smiled as he sat back and extended his arm along the back of the couch. Without warning, Kensi suddenly yawned and scooted close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. Deeks went rigid with surprise before slowly relaxing and placing his arm around her in an almost instinctual move. They stayed in that position, her with her feet tucked under her and her body nestled into his, his with his feet on the coffee table and his right hand unconsciously fingering her hair, until a newly youthful Rose ascended the grand staircase to her beloved Jack.

Kensi was trying to hide the tears running down her face by using a yawn to try and mask them.

"Tired princess?"

"It's been a long day Deeks, it's almost midnight." Kensi defended lazily, allowing her eyes to start to slide towards shut.

"Sure is, I need to get going." He told her, a hint of reluctance in his voice.

"Mmm, can't you stay?" She protested, grabbing his hand as he got up.

"Sorry Fern, Monty need me." He told her as he fetched a blanket and dropped it over her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"With coffee?" She muttered.

"And donuts." He chuckled before switching off the lamp on her side table and slipping out the door.

Deeks got into his truck and looked at her now dark windows for a second, smiling.

Rose and Jack, Max and Fern, Kensi and Deeks.

Proof that a few tears made one hell of a love story.

* * *

**Before the Clouds Roll By a Little**


	8. Before the Clouds Roll By a Little

**Kensi and Deeks on a picnic**

* * *

It was sort of an unspoken rule around NCIS that to be unreachable at any time was akin to getting your ass handed to you on a silver platter with a pink slip next to it, but right now Martin Deeks didn't care. The team had been working round the clock recently to apprehend a particularly dangerous criminal and it had been over a week since he'd had any alone time with his girlfriend.

So, with Nell's help, he had arranged for him and Kensi to have the same day off and had taken her an hour outside of the city into farm country, threw their phones in the back of the car, and proceeded to set up a picnic lunch for just the two of them in the middle of a huge field.

"You know why I love days like this?" He asked as he rested his head on her shoulder.

"No, why?" She giggled as he kissed her cheek.

"Because its days like this, when the sun is shining and there's not a cloud for miles; that makes me know I love you."

She felt a blush creep into her cheeks. It was such a corny sentiment but it was still heartfelt enough to make her smile.

"Why do these days make you know you love me?" She asked coyly, playing along as she lay down in the grass, propping herself up on her elbows so she could look at him.

"Well." He shrugged as he picked at the grass. "Only people in love see the sky in such a vibrant blue and the sun is always shining with a light that's not too harsh and not too hot and, if you try, if you're in love you can smell a very faint aroma of peppermint on the wind."

She smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "No you can't."

"Oh really? Well why don't you try it?" His eyes shone with the challenge.

She smiled and shook her head before closing her eyes and inhaling. To her surprise, she found that she could almost imagine she could smell peppermints.

She opened her eyes again and looked at his expectant smirk. Instead offering him the answer she knew he desired, she rolled onto her side and plucked at the tiny flowers that grew in the grass.

"So then does this mean that you don't love me on cloudy days?"

"Oh no, cloudy days are the days where we're talking about our future." He told her as he lay down beside her, lazily moving his hand up and down her arm. "The clouds are so that we can find things in them that tell us what our future will be like."

"Mmm, our future." She murmured as the warm summer day began to take its toll on her and she found that she was suddenly fighting sleep. She struggled to keep her eyes open as Deeks moved his arm so that he was cradling her close to him and she heard him emit a contented sigh followed by a lazy yawn. And as she lay there in the grass, with the sun warming her from above and Deeks pressing into her from behind, she found herself wondering why she was fighting.

Neither of them were sure how long they had been sleeping but all of a sudden they were both awakened by several big, fat raindrops falling on them.

"Oh my god Deeks it's starting to rain!" Kensi squealed as she jumped to her feet.

"Quick, grab the basket!" Deeks instructed her as he scooped up the remnants of their picnic and threw them in the basket as the rain grew harder, quickly going from a few drops to a torrential downpour.

Shrieking, they both ran for the only cover ether of them saw in the field, which happened to be a very large oak tree with branches that extended far enough to make a suitable place to wait out the rain. In the back of his mind, Deeks knew that trees in a storm equalled bad, but right now the girl he loved was running towards it so that meant that he was too.

They were both soaked to the bone and howling with laughter by the time they managed to reach the relative dryness beneath the branches.

"What does it mean for us on the days its storming?" She asked through her laughter as a crack of lightning split the rainclouds.

"Well that normally means we're fighting and I want those days to go by real quick so we can get back to doing this." He grinned as he pulled her soaking wet body into his and kissed her as the accompanying thunder rolled across the sky.

Pulling apart when oxygen became a problem, they leaned their foreheads together and listened to each other's breathing as he cupped her face with his hand and watched as a mischievous smirk crossed her face.

Without another word, Kensi took his hand and pulled him back out into the rain. She laughed and began to dance around as the thunder rolled above them. Deeks grabbed her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder, eliciting a shriek and a stream of protests as he laughed and spun her round and round. All too soon, the rain began to slack until all that was left was a misty sky and two soaking wet people clutching each other tightly.

There could be no doubt about any of it. Come sun or clouds or sudden storm, this was love and this was going to be forever.

* * *

**That's the Story of**


	9. That's the Story of II

**Kensi and Deeks talk about when they met**

* * *

It was late when Kensi got home, but the light in the downstairs study was still softly glowing. She dropped her bag by the banister and walked tiredly into the room, smiling at the sight of her husband of almost 20 years sitting contentedly on the couch with a beer in each hand.

"Hey." She sank into the couch next to him, gladly accepting one of the bottles. She and Callen had spent the day brushing up on her hand to hand combat skills, something neither of them needed but had elected to do just in case.

"Hey." He kissed the side of her head and pulled her close. "How was your day of super ninja warrior stuff?"

"I kicked ass." She grinned, wincing slightly as she adjusted herself against him.

"You ok?" Deeks asked, it didn't matter that he knew that she could handle herself better than anyone he knew he was her husband dammit and that meant that he would never stop worrying about her.

"Nothing a hot bath won't fix." She shrugged and took a swig of beer. "How was your day?"

"Pretty uneventful. Although Kate was asking about how we met."

"Really?" Kensi looked at him, eyebrow raised. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her the truth, that you were totally and completely I love with me from the moment you laid eyes on me." His eyes twinkled, fully expecting her to argue. To his surprise, however, she just smiled into her beer.

"I wouldn't say 'totally and completely'." She shrugged.

"Really?" Deeks was intrigued. "Tell me more princess."

"Calm down Shaggy. It's nothing it's just that when I first saw you, or more accurately Jason, there was a," she searched for the right word. "A flutter."

Deeks sat stunned. It wasn't often that his wife could leave him totally speechless, ok scratch that, but this one was different. "You never told me that."

"I didn't want you to get a big head." She explained, but in the dim light he thought he could make out a bit of a blush rising to her cheeks. "Besides, it's not like you felt anything."

"Oh now that's where you're wrong Kensilina. I took one look at you and I swear I felt my heart drop into my stomach." He chuckled and she swatted his shoulder.

"You did not."

"Yes I did, if you remember I couldn't speak for a second or two after me were introduced."

"You were wearing a mouth guard."

"A fortunate cover." He leaned close and whispered in her ear. "And I still feel it every time I see you."

Kensi turned and kissed him. There was a time when such corny sentiment would have flat out repulsed her, but from him it was as natural essential as breathing. She loved being with a man who never tired of telling her how much he loved her and meaning it with all his heart. She rested her head on his shoulder and sat there, slowly letting the feeling of sleep wash over her. It really had been a long day.

As gently as he could, Deeks got up from the couch and bundled her into his arms, her arms wrapping themselves loosely around his neck.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled.

"Well first we're going to see about that hot bath and then after that, I plan on lying beside you in bed, stroking your hair until you fall asleep before I wrap my arms around you and do the same. How does that sound?" He smiled softly.

Kensi mumbled something and rested her head against his chest. That sounded pretty good to her.

* * *

**That's the Glory of Love**


	10. That's the Glory of Love II

**A discussion about grief**

* * *

The walk to Katz's was quiet, almost uncomfortable even. They had been through rough situations before, but this time Deeks was totally lost for words.

"It's nice out." Kensi broke the silence as they waited on a street corner for the light to change.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Warm."

"Yep."

More silence.

"I liked what the pastor said about…"

"Can we not talk about that?" Kensi cut him off and strode across the street with the crowd as Deeks tried to keep up. They walked with her a step or two ahead, marching along as if she was trying to leave all her problems in her wake. But as they cut through Thompsons Square Park, Kesni stopped dead in her tracks, almost having Deeks run into her.

"Hey, woah, Kens. What's…?" Then he saw what she saw. The man stood on the left with a big red balloon in his hand, the woman on the right with a carnival teddy bear, and in the middle, holding hands with both of them, was a little boy with platinum blonde curls, no more than three years old.

"Again, again!" The boy giggled.

"Ok Ben, on the count of three. Ready?" The woman cooed and looked at her husband. "One."

"Two." The man joined in.

"Three!" They both said as they lifted their son into the air, producing shrieks of delight from the little boy.

Kensi just stood there, watching the couple. They were a dead ringer for Holly and Marcus. Deeks put his hand on her shoulder and watched with her. Was this what they would have looked like? Probably. "No." He thought. "Definitely."

"They would have been good parents." Kensi finally said, echoing his thoughts.

Deeks nodded. "Remember what Holly was like when she was trying to pick a preschool?"

Kensi couldn't help but let out a laugh. "She just about tore Marcus in two when he told her the baby wouldn't be in school for years." Kensi put her hand over his and watched the couple. "It's not fair."

"No, it's not." He sighed. "Come on, Katz is waiting."

* * *

They ate in silence, conducting their own private memorial service for their friends amidst the hustle and bustle of Katz's Diner.

"Do you think they had any regrets?" Kensi wondered aloud.

Deeks thought for a second, slowly chewing his Ruben. "No, I don't think they did. When you love someone like they loved each other, you don't have regrets."

"How do you know?" Kensi looked across the table at him.

"Because I don't have any regrets." He told her. "And I know that I love you just as strongly as Marcus loved Holly."

Despite the sadness of the day, Kensi felt a slight smile fight its way onto her face.

"There's that Kensi Blye smile. I've been looking for that." Deeks teased, making Kensi's grin widen before it disappeared just as quickly as it came.

"It feels wrong to be smiling today." She shook her head.

"Which is exactly why we should smile." He reached across the table and took her hand. "Look, I miss them too. He was my best friend. But I'm not going to spend my time being sad about losing them. I just want to be able to be happy that I knew them."

Kensi looked at her boyfriend with shear amazement. "When did you get to be so wise?"

Deeks shrugged. "I don't know, all I know is that I found that if I keep looking at back I end up missing what's in front of me."

"Ok now I'm officially impressed." Kensi raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"No, you sound like you swallowed a fortune cookie machine." She grinned and he grinned back. "But you are right."

"Don't sound so surprised, it does happen." Deeks got up and offered his hand to Kensi. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" She looked at him.

"Well, the way I see it we have two options. One, you can go back to the hotel, draw the blinds shut, and be sad or, option B, we can go and enjoy this beautiful day for them." Deeks looked at her expectantly. Kensi looked at him for a second before getting up, ignoring his hand.

"Holly always did say we should see Central Park." She smiled softly. Deeks smiled back and put his arm around her waist, guiding her from the dimly lit room and out into the sun.

* * *

**As Long as There's the Two of Us**


	11. As Long as There's the Two of Us

**Deeks surprises Kensi**

* * *

"Where the hell are we?" Kensi asked as she peered out the passenger side window of Deeks's pickup into the inky blackness of the night.

"Oh come now princess, what kind of surprise would this be if I told you where we were going?" Deeks shot her a grin.

"I didn't ask where we were going I asked where we were?" Kensi shot back. So maybe she was a little bitchy but she'd been cooped up all day in OSP doing paper work while outside Los Angeles was experiencing one of its rare rainy days and all she really wanted to do was go for a late night run down the beach before falling into their bed.

"How about I give you a hint?" He suggested.

"How about no?" She grumbled.

Unfazed, Deeks reached under his seat and produced a Twinkie, holding it out to her. "Now?"

"Damn you." Kensi muttered as she grabbed the dessert and tore I to it with gusto. "Ok, give me a hint."

"Oh come now Ferny, you can do better then that." Deeks chided her as he turned off the main road.

"Fine, can you please give me a hint?" Kensi rolled her eyes.

"Can I get a kiss?" Deeks looked at his girlfriend with puppy dog eyes.

"Forget it, I don't care anymore."

"Fine! Ok, we're going someplace famous." Deeks finally conceded

"Someplace famous? On this road?" Kensi raised an eyebrow as the road turned bumpy.

"Trust me Kens, have I ever steered you wrong?"

Kensi smiled. "One word Deeks, Graceland."

"That wasn't my fault!" Deeks cried in protest.

"I'm not saying it was." Kensi shrugged and laughed, leaving her implication perfectly clear.

"Whatever, were here." Deeks muttered and pulled the truck over to the side of what Kensi wasn't even sure was a road. Deeks hurried around to her side to open her door, helping Kensi out before taking her hand and leading her up a small wooded path.

"Goddamn it Deeks! What the hell is this?" Kensi grumbled as she tried to work her way through the wet underbrush with very limited light.

"Trust me, it's gonna be worth it." Deeks assured her as they broke through the foliage.

"Oh Marty." Kensi gasped. In front of her was the most incredible view of downtown LA she had ever seen. Thanks to that days rain, the smog that typically lingered over the city had been chased off, allowing her to see the entire city lite up with twinkling lights, and beyond that the large, full moon hanging low over the endless Pacific Ocean.

"Where are we?" She asked as he wrapped himself around her from behind, warming her against the slight chill of the night.

"Turn around." He whispered in her ear.

Twisting in his arms, Kensi looked to find herself face to face with the brightly lite Hollywood sign.

"Wha...how did you...how did you get permission to come up here?" She stammered.

"I had Hetty pull some strings." Deeks chuckled and cupped her face.

"But why?"

"Because you're worth it Kens." He looked into her eyes and gently stroked her cheek. "I saw you were having a bad day, and I thought this would make up for it." He kissed her deeply, both of them certain that all the secrets of the universe lay in that kiss. Finally they pulled apart. "Did it?"

"Every bit." She sighed and put her head to his chest, listening to his heart beat for a second before turning back to stare out at the city.

"I love you Kensi." He murmured.

"I love you too Martin Deeks." Kensi snuggled further into his arms. Without warning, Deeks suddenly withdrew his arms and walked I front of her.

"There's actually another reason why I brought you here." Deeks shuffled slightly before taking her hands. "You, Kensi Marie Blye, are amazing. You are strong and you are beautiful and you are fiercely independent. There isn't anything I would change about you, except for one thing. You are independent because over the years you've had to rely only on yourself, but you don't have to do that anymore."

He dropped her hands and stared intently into her eyes.

"You have me Kens, you will always have me. You will never be alone because no matter what happens I will always be right there beside you. Never in front, never behind, but always right next to you through every bump in the road."

He sank to one knee, Kensi's breath hitched.

"I love you Kensi, and for the rest of my life I want to devote every waking second to your happiness."

Out of his jacket pocket he produced a small black box. He opened it to reveal a brightly glittering diamond ring.

"So I have to know, Kensi Marie Blye will you marry me?"

* * *

**We've Got the World and All it's Charms**


	12. We've Got the World and All its Charms

**Kensi and Deeks plan their honeymoon**

* * *

"How about Maui?" Deeks suggested.

"Mmm, maybe. But it doesn't feel right." Kensi shook her head and flipped through the magazine. "Ooo, how about this place?" She pointed.

"Valle? Sounds kinda cold Kensi." Derks shook his head.

"What are you two fighting about now? Flower arrangements?" Sam chuckled as he and Callen walked into OSP.

"No, no, flower arrangements were last week. It must be something more dire, like wedding cake flavors." Callen joked.

"Oh well that one's more important, cause I'm not coming to the wedding if the cake is not chocolate in some form." Sam told them in mock seriousness.

"Not even close." Deeks shook his head. "No, actually sugarbear and I have been attempting to determine where we should go on our honeymoon. Now, yours truly has been suggesting such places as Maui or Bali or the Gold Coast of Australia, all perfectly romantic spots."

"And some of the best surfing locations in the world." Callen pointed out as Sam cocked an eyebrow. Deeks smirked.

"That, and the opportunity to see my new wife in a little dental floss bikini." Kensi punched his arm.

"And where does Kensi want to go?" Sam asked, not even trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. Kensi tossed him the magazine, with the pages she liked dog eared.

"Val Thorens, Saas Fee, Whistler." Sam read.

"I'm sensing a pattern here." Callen smirked and folded his arms.

"What?" Kensi asked the boys. "We live by the beach, you go surfing almost every day. I just think it would be nice to get a change in the weather."

"Yeah but that all sounds so cold." Deeks wined. "Not prime bikini weather."

"No, it's not." Kensi nodded. "But you know what it is good for?" She moved close to her almost husband, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Snuggling up on a bearskin rug in front of a roaring fire after a long day of skiing with nothing on but the radio." She grinned as Deeks's face flushed.

"Uh, yyeah. That that sounds nice." Deeks stammered.

"So you agree then? Cause I hear the nights in Saas Fee can get really, really cold. We'd have to find ways to stay warm."

"Oh I can think of a few ways we can fix that." Deeks muttered as he brought his lips to hers in a dazzling kiss.

"Hey, hey, hey, not in here you two. Do that somewhere else." Sam grumbled.

"Fine by me, how long are the timers on the showers?" Deeks smirked, his face taking on a particularly healthy blush. He had to duck quickly to avoid the magazine Sam chucked at his head.

* * *

It was late when they got back to the mission with each member of the team wanting nothing more then to go home and sleep like there was no tomorrow.

"Night you two."

"Let us know how the honeymoon decision goes." Sam joked as he and Callen left for the night.

Deeks just shook his head and slipped his arm around Kensi's waist. "You ready?"

"Definitely." She nodded. "Yummy Yummy Heart Attack?"

"With pleasure."

They were almost out the door when a voice stopped them.

"Just a moment you two." Hetty called. Deeks and Kensi turned to find the little ninja standing behind them. Without another word, Hetty handed each of them an envelope and departed with a smile.

"Oh, and Mister Deeks?" She paused and turned. "Don't scratch the paint." And just like that she was gone.

Deeks looked at Kensi who just shrugged before opening her envelope and pulling out two first class tickets to Saas Fee and two more to Bali two weeks after that. They both looked at the tickets with mouths wide open before Deeks tore into his envelope, which contained two sets of car keys, each with a white letter B on the chain, as well as directions to a private chalet in Switzerland and another home in Bali. At the bottom of the page, in her distinctive scrawl, was a message from Hetty to the two of them.

Happy Honeymoon.

* * *

**And When the World is Through With Us**


	13. And When the World is Through With Us

**A lifelong love**

* * *

On a bench in Griffith Park, just out of view of the famed observatory, sat a withered old man in a grey coat. His hair was silver and thinning, hidden under a slightly beaten fedora hat while across his lap lay a simple yet practical wooden cane. He sat watching the surroundings, listening to the people of Los Angeles go about their days, as he often did on late spring days like today.

He sighed and leaned his head back, inhaling deeply, letting the smells of the freshly mowed grass and the blooming flowers, undercut by the slight smell of the ocean that permeated all of Los Angeles, fill his nose. It was a smell that he'd grown up with and spent all his life around, but only recently had he really grown to appreciate such small things.

With a sigh he massaged his bad knee as it started acting up again. He would have liked to say that he'd ruined his knee by being a hero and saving hundreds of people at the cost of having two good legs, but the reality was that he'd slipped and fallen a few years back and wrenched his knee something awful. It never had quite healed right, hence the cane placed across his lap. He grunted and leaned back as he caught a whiff of her perfume, the same perfume he'd gotten her every Christmas for the last decade. It was a good way to tell where she was and where she had been.

"Here we are, two frozen lemonades." The voice was raspy with age but still held its once irresistibly sultry quality that had turned men like him into absolute puddles. He opened his eyes and smiled as she sat down next to him. Her hair came down to her shoulders and while he had opted to let his turn gray, she had attempted to resist the aging process by having it dyed jet black, a nice complement to the royal purple wrap that she had pulled around her with her favorite vintage emerald broach pinned to it.

"I thought I said strawberry?" He grumbled as he stared at the container.

"They were out of strawberry." She shrugged, digging into hers. "Eat, that was $12."

"Twelve dollars? Holy crap, is it made out of gold?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Just eat, otherwise you'll have waisted 12 bucks."

He chuckled and put his arm around her. He drew her close and kissed her, his untrimmed whiskers tickling her cheek. "Thank you princess."

"You idiot." She muttered but smiled at his affection. "How's your leg?"

"It's fine." He lied.

"Liar, I saw you massaging it earlier." She shot him a look before turning her attention back to her lemonade. "Did you take your pain pills?"

"I ran out yesterday." He admitted.

"I'll swing by Dr. Gramm's office tomorrow and get you some more." She took a larger bite of her lemonade. "What do you want for dinner?"

"I was thinking Chinese."

"We had Chinese Tuesday. Pick something else."

"But I like Chinese."

"Well I'm not having Chinese twice in one week. Pick something else."

"You choose then."

"How about sushi?"

He paused for a second, as if he was actually considering telling her no for the first time in 43 years, before breaking out in a smile.

"Whatever princess wants, princess gets."

"Shut up."

* * *

From her vantage point several benches down the path, Kensi Blye watched the exchange with a warm curiosity.

"Here we are, two frozen lemonades." Deeks said as gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek before sitting beside her and handing her one of the cups. "They were all out of strawberry lemonade." Kensi didn't complain, instead grabbing the frozen treat and offering only a grunt by way of thanks before tearing into her dessert. "How are Frank and Olga doing?"

"Frank and Olga?" Kensi asked with a mouth full of frozen lemonade. She quickly swallowed before continuing. "Where did you get those names?"

"Oh come on! Frank and Olga sound like names that belong to the old couple next door but who are secretly ex-CIA assassins who can still take on a room full of armed bad guys." He put his arm around her and cleared his throat.

"Check it out. See, his cane is a disguised gun and is actually made out of steal that looks like wood so he can bust out his kick ass karate moves."

Kensi looked at "Frank" as he tried to steal a bite of "Olga's" lemonade, only to have his hand swatted away before she ultimately offered her carton to him. She smiled and nodded. "Ok, then what about her?"

"Well, you see, Olga was never actually CIA. She's actually a KGB defector and the broach she has on actually emits a highly toxic nerve gas. They met while they were both sent to kill the other but fell madly in love upon meeting each other." Deeks grinned as he swiped a spoonful of Kensi's frozen lemonade. She wacked him on the shoulder as hard as she could, making him jump, before she nestled back into his arms.

"Do you think that we'll be like them in 50 years?" He whispered in her ear. Kensi watched as Frank whispered something in Olga's ear which made her laugh and put her head on his shoulder. Frank stroked her hair and began to sing some old song softly enough where only the two of them could hear. It was the perfect picture of a life well lived with a once in a lifetime love.

"Yeah," she whispered and smiled up at him, "I really do."

* * *

**We've Got Each Others Arms**


	14. We've Got Each Others Arms

**Kensi and Deeks, the morning after sleeping together**

* * *

Deeks awoke to the sun beginning to filter through his window, the smile he wore last night still painted on his face.

His right arm was numb from where she'd slept on top of it, but he didn't care. Because right now he was laying in bed, wrapped in nothing but sheets, with the most beautiful woman in the world tucked into his arms. He gently brushed the hair out of her face as she rolled onto her back, still largely asleep.

"Hey." He whispered as he kissed her lips, cupping her face with his hand.

"Hey." Kensi whispered back, her mismatched eyes half open.

"We're naked." He grinned and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"Yep." She grinned and stretched, allowing him to remove his arm from under her. "What time is it?"

"I don't care." He made no move to look at the clock, not wanting to ever move from this spot right here. "You look like an angel."

"I look like a mess." She corrected him, making no moves to look at the clock herself.

"Like I said, an angel." He kissed her, deeper this time. She kissed him back, relishing the contact. This had taken so long, they had worked so hard, and now here they were. "Do you remember what time we fell asleep?"

She slowly shook her head back and forth. "Does it really matter?"

"No." He whispered and rested his head in the crook of her neck. "We did it."

"Yeah we did." She bite her lip and ran her fingers through his hair. "Should we have done this?"

"Kensi," he lifted his head and looked at her, "I've regretted a lot of things in my life, but I will never, _never_ regret this. Ok?"

She searched his eyes for lies and found none. "Ok."

He smiled and returned his head to her neck.

"Let's just stay here today." He murmured into her neck.

"We can't. I have to get home to change and then we have to go to work."

"Why do you need to change?"

"Because I can't, Deeks stop!" She laughed as he began sucking on her pulse point. Oh what a beautiful sound that was. "I can't go into work wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday, that'll look suspicious."

"Just pull something out of my drawer. You'll be fine." He muttered before sucking down harder, producing a delightful gasp from Kensi.

"You're going to leave a mark!" However she made no real attempt to stop him. "Besides, in what world would me showing up in your clothes be less suspicious?"

He grunted something that sounded like go bag as his hands began moving further south on her body.

"It's at the office." She admitted before letting loose a slight moan as she felt his fingers ghost over her sex. "No, no time."

"Thirty minutes." He pulled his head up and looked at her face, a slight flush forming on her cheeks.

"I can't." She whispered, her hand stroking his face. "Time to go."

Deeks sighed and rolled away from her.

"Hey," she reached out and touched him, "I don't regret this ether. Any of this."

"I know." He told her softly.

"We just need to keep it quiet for a little bit."

"I know."

With a parting smile, Deeks watched as she climbed out of his bed and swiftly dressed before she slipped out the door. He leaned back in his bed and smiled.

The real world was no Fairytale, their lives would never make a good romance novel. But it was a story, a love story.

Their story.

* * *

**You've Got to Win a Little**


	15. You've Got to Win a Little

**Kensi and Deeks take a test**

* * *

"Lunch is here!" Callen announced as he entered the bullpen, Styrofoam boxes in hand. The whole team had been stuck inside doing paper work all day long so the food was a more than welcome distraction.

"I hope you got something healthy." Sam grunted as he snatched the container from Callen.

"Somewhat." He shrugged as he gave Deeks his box and set Kensi's on her desk.

"Alright! Lobster Louie's Deep Fried Surprise!" Deeks raised his hands in victory before he tore into his basket.

"And how the hell is this in any way healthy?" Sam glared at Callen who smirked.

"Fish."

"Not likely." Sam snorted, shutting the lid on his. Callen just shrugged and moved to each his own deep fried concoction.

"Where's Kensi? Louie's is her favorite." Callen looked at Deeks who shook his head.

"Hey you're back." Kensi remarked as she made her way into the bullpen.

"Found her." Sam grinned as Deeks got up and wrapped his arms around his wife.

"I'll give you a hint as to what lunch is." Deeks smiled as he kissed her hello.

"Mmm, you taste like fish." She smiled and opened her eyes. "Lobster Louie's?"

"Yep."

"Yes!" She grinned and broke away from her husband and practically sprinted to the box on her desk. Suddenly, however, the smell of the fried food hit her and immediately stopped her in her tracks, her face turning a lovely shade of green.

"Kens?" Deeks looked at her with concern. No sooner had the word left his mouth then Kensi had snatched the waste basket from beside Sam's desk and was unceremoniously emptying the contents of her stomach into it. Immediately, Deeks was at her side, rubbing her back and pulling her hair away from her face.

"Woah Kens, you ok?" Sam asked as Callen asked what was wrong.

"Deeks?" Kensi groaned as she lifted her head.

"I always knew being married to Shaggy would make you sick." Sam joked. Kensi cracked a smile before returning her face to the trash.

"It's probably just a bug." She muttered. "I mean, it's not like I'm…" Kensi's head shot up and she looked at her husband, "late"

Deek looked confused before his eyes went wide in sudden understanding. "How long?"

"Three weeks?"

"Do you think?"

Sam and Callen looked at the pair. "What?" Sam spoke up.

With a surprising amount of speed for a woman who just emptied the contents of her stomach into the trash, Kensi made a mad dash for the bathroom with Deeks hot on her heels, barely giving enough time to grab the box of pregnancy tests that Hetty held out as they passed.

* * *

Deeks paced back and forth outside the bathroom doorway. God what was taking her so long? It felt like it had been hours. He knocked on the door.

"How's it going?" He called, more than a little afraid of the answer.

"Same as it was 20 seconds ago, still nothing." Kensi called back. Deeks blew out his cheeks and sank to the floor, covering his face with his hands. Forget terrorists with guns and bombs, this was far more nerve wracking then any of that.

At the smell of coffee he looked up to find Nell standing in front of him, a cup of coffee in both hands. Deeks smiled at her and accepted the coffee, patting the floor next to him as an invitation.

"Any word yet?" Nell asked as she sank down beside him.

He shook his head. "All's quiet on the western front." He leaned his head back against the wall. "What if she's pregnant Velma? What then?"

Nell shrugged. "Well do you want to have a baby?"

Deeks nodded vigorously. A tiny mutant ninja assassin hybrid of him and Kensi? He'd always wanted that.

"Ok, and does Kensi want that?"

Deeks thought about how she'd let her birth control run out, about how she'd gotten lazy about remembering condoms and morning after pills, about the baby magazine she thought she had hidden away in the sock drawer. "Yeah, she does." He smiled.

"Well, I may just be a tech analyst with an IQ of 146, but it seems to me that you guys don't have a problem." Nell clutched his arm in support. "You guys are going to be great parents."

They sat for a moment before the bathroom door opened and Kensi poked her head out. She didn't say anything, she didn't have too.

"I'm gonna go now." Nell remarked as she and Deeks got up. "Good luck." She whispered to him as he followed his wife into the bathroom.

Kensi handed him the test. "I can't look."

Deeks looked at the overturned pregnancy test. On the one hand, it could be negative and life would go on just as it always had. But on the other hand, it could be so much better. He held it out to her. "We do it together."

Kensi looked at him for a second before nodding and taking the other end of the stick. "On the count of three."

He nodded. "One"

"Two."

"Three." They flipped the stick. Kensi looked at the stick and then at her husband, Deeks just stared at the stick.

As clear as a bell, there was only one thing that little pink plus sign meant.

Pregnant.

With a sudden whoop of joy, Deeks broke the moment and scooped Kensi into his arms, enveloping in the mother of all bear hugs. Kensi hugged back and felt tears of joys begin to come down her face.

Sometimes the universe only seemed to want you to loose. But then, at the very best time, it handed you a win.

* * *

**Loose a Little**


	16. Loose a Little

**Kensi and Deeks fight**

* * *

All over the world, at any given time, war is always being fought somewhere by someone over something. Sometimes they're big, countries against countries, but more often they're small, person to person. And right now, in a small one bedroom beachside apartment in LA, war was in full swing.

"What the hell are you getting all bent out of shape about Deeks?" Kensi asked her boyfriend as she walked into their bedroom with Deeks right on her heals.

"Oh I don't know. How about the fact that you were making out with the guy to the point where I was damn sure he was about to bend you over the table right there in the club." He snapped at her with a cold condescension in his voice.

Kensi bristled. "For the last time it was for the damn cover Deeks."

"No, what Callen and Talia were doing was for the cover because they were the two who were actually in play. You and I, on the other hand, were not." He moved to the opposite side of the bed and looked at her.

"We were all undercover Deeks, so that means that we do whatever we have too to protect that cover." He voice hard. "If you can't handle that then I'd suggest reconsidering your line of work."

"Oh please, you practically stuck your hand down a strangers pants. That was in no way needed for a cover of any kind!"

"Why the hell are you acting like this? It was just a stupid cover, it wasn't like I was going home with him, although right now that sounds like a much better idea than being here."

"That's right, blame it all on me, just like always. It's always my damn fault isn't it Kensi? At work, at home, in the universe, always my fault."

"Would you stop being such a baby Deeks?" She snapped. "He was just a guy in a club who was there for a cover. Would you have rather I used you?"

"No!" He shouted. Well that was a surprise.

"Then why are you stuck on this?" Exasperation soaking her words.

"Because I don't even know what we are anymore!" Deeks cried. Kensi looked confused for a second before a wave of understanding hit her like a train.

"Oh my god," her voice thick with disgusted amazement." We're back to this?"

"Yes we are back to this, of course we are back to this. Because we are always going to come back to this!" He looked at her dead on, not backing down.

"Why the hell can't you just get over it?"

"Because you said no!" He roared. "I asked you to marry me and you said no!"

"And I told you that I don't want to get married!"

"Well I do Kensi." His voice dropped from a roar to just below it. "I wanted to marry you and you said no and _then_ you expect things to go on as if it never happened."

"Because I want to put it behind us and move on, why can't you do that for me?"

"Why not? Because, although it obviously didn't mean a goddamn thing to you, it sure as hell meant something to me!" He shot.

Kensi looked as though she'd been physically struck. "It meant something to me. It meant a lot to me."

"Oh bull." Deeks spat. "If it meant so much why can you just move on like it didn't happen?"

"Because that's how I work and you know that's how I work!"

Deeks smiled grimly and shook his head. "You see, I would have thought that maybe, just maybe, the fact that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and only you wouldn't be something you could stow away so easily."

Kensi noticed the past tense, not a good sign. "What needs to happen so we can just move past this?"

From their opposing sides of the bed, Kensi and Deeks just stared at each other, no movement, no words, for what felt like years. The bed in between them might just as well have been the Pacific Ocean. The unspoken answer to her question hung heavy in the air, like some invisible beast that would destroy them at the first sign of movement. In every war, no matter how large or how small, there were always casualties. Always.

* * *

**And Always Have the Blues a Little**


	17. And Always Have the Blues a Little

**Kensi Talks to her Dad About Deeks**

* * *

"Hey dad." Kensi whispered softly. "I know I haven't been able to visit you as often as I wanted, sorry about that."

She popped a couple nuts in her mouth and watched as the waves rolled onto the beach. When she was a kid, whenever she'd had a bad day her dad would take her out to the beach and split a bag of candied nuts with her, always allowing her to take more than her fair share. After he died, it became a ritual for her to go to the beach and buy a bag of candied nuts on the days when she really missed him. It was where she felt the closest to him.

"Things have been going pretty good lately for me, which is kind of strange." She chuckled to herself. "Work has been kicking my butt, but I know you'd be proud."

"Mom's been doing well. She and Timothy are waiting on the birth of Tim's granddaughter any day now so they're really excited about that. You should see her, all excited over the thought of being a step grandmother." She shook her head and smiled. "She told me to say hello for her."

She stayed silent for a minute, mulling over her thoughts.

"The reason I came today was because I have some pretty exciting news. I'm getting married tomorrow daddy. Can you believe it? Your little girl, all grown up."

"A few weeks ago Marty took me up to the Hollywood sign and proposed to me, I thought I was going to pass out. I just never thought I'd ever really get a shot at something like this again. I know it sounds like we're moving too fast, but we've been dancing around this for a long time, and I don't want to wait anymore."

"He's really good to me dad," she assured him, "he's everything I know you would have wanted for me. He's smart, funny, a little goofy, and he loves me the way I've always wanted to be loved. You would have liked him but pretended not to, made him sweat just like you always said you would do with any man who tried to take away your baby girl."

She silently looked out over the cool blue waters of the pacific, watching the seagulls follow the fishing boats out to sea.

"I really miss you dad. I miss how you used to laugh at all my jokes, even the bad ones. I miss you and I sitting up late over a package of Oreos before you had to leave on your assignments, I miss how safe you made me feel." She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I wish you could have been here to see this."

She took a deep breath to steady herself, trying to keep the tears pooling in her eyes from spilling over, and couldn't help but give off a small laugh. "You once told me that it never did anybody any good to cry, even though I watched your eyes get misty when we watched Titanic." With a slight start she realized that that had been only a few days before he'd been killed. But instead of the pain she felt when she normally thought of that time, all she felt was peace. Somehow, without even realizing it, she had finally found peace.

"I think, I think Marty's helped me more than I'll ever really know. He's been there to hold me together on the days when I thought I was coming apart. He knows just the right ways to make me laugh, even when I don't want to. I trust him with everything, and I know he loves me just as much as you did."

She bite her lip as she watched a father and daughter stroll down the beach, hand in hand.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm happy now. I think I've finally been able to move on." She stood up and crumpled the empty paper bag in her hands. "Goodbye dad, I'll talk to you soon."

As she turned to leave, a particularly strong breeze blew her hair around her face and, in that moment, she knew. She knew that her dad was happy for her.

* * *

**That's the Story of**


	18. That's the Story of III

**Kensi gives Kate a photo album**

* * *

"Hey Kate?" Kensi called as she knocked on her door.

"Yeah mom?" Her daughter replied, pulling the headphones out of her ears.

"Your dad tells me you were wondering about how he and I met?"

"Well, yeah." Kate shrugged. "I just think it's weird how I'm 16 and I don't even know what happened."

Kensi nodded silently before producing a leather bound book and handing it to her daughter.

"What's this?" Kate looked at her mother and turned the book over in her hands.

"Your answers." Kensi smiled as she left, leaving the book with Kate. She stared at it for a moment before her curiosity got the better of her and she sat on the edge of her bed to read it.

Opening it up, she found not typed words, but a hand written note taped to the inside cover.

**_My Daughter,_**

**_If you're reading this, it means that you're beginning to wonder about your parents so I decided that, since a picture is worth a thousand words, to make this book for you. Inside you'll see our highs, our lows, our beginnings, and our ends. You know where we end up, but just know the course of true love never did run smooth._**

**_Love,_**

**_Your loving mother_**

As she turned the page, she found that, it was indeed a collection of photos, each one labeled and put in chronological order.

The first photo looked like it had been taken just before an undercover op. Because Kate knew that her mom wouldn't wear her hair down with a tank top while on the job unless it was for a cover.

Beside the photo her Uncle Nate had written, _Kensi preparing to go out on the undercover mission that would change her life_.

The next picture was of her mother sitting at her desk at work, head down in paper work and her dad throwing balls of paper at her. Bellow the photo, Kate recognized her Uncle Eric's handwriting.

_Kensi and Deeks doing paper work._

Some of the photos made Kate laugh, a few made her sad. Under a photo of her dad posing next to a shooting target, Uncle Sam had written, _Deeks's first target_, with her Uncle G having hastily scrawled under that,_ It's all downhill from here_.

Under a photo of her parents standing over a grave, her Aunt Nell had written, _Deeks lets Kensi grieve for her dad_.

She almost skipped over the one under which her grandmother had written _After Talia_. It didn't give away much, but her parents definitely looked uncomfortable standing next to each other.

Kate let the afternoon grow long, looking at photo after photo, reading epitaph after epitaph. It was amazing to see all these moments from her parents, the life's they had led, the story of the evolution of their love.

She smiled as she flipped to the last photo. In it, her mom and dad were passed out on the couch at work. Her mom's head was lying on her dads shoulder and his arm was thrown protectively around her, almost instinctually so as to ward off any bad guys that might invade her dreams. Her hair was messy, his mouth was open. She was only wearing one shoe, he had a tiny bit of drool on the side of his mouth. Below the picture, where others had written several words or even a few sentences, a new hand had only written one word. Kate smiled as she imagined her Nana silently snapping a photo with her signature secretive smile.

_Partners_

* * *

**That's the Glory of Love**


	19. That's the Glory of Love III

**A discussion about forever**

* * *

Coming from the smog filled streets of LA, it was difficult for Kensi and Deeks to wrap their heads around the concept of a large swatch of land carved out of downtown. But as they slowly walked down the tree covered pathways and across the wide grassy knolls of Central Park, it was easy to see the appeal.

"Do you remember when we went ice skating that one time Holly and Marcus took us here in the winter?" Kensi suddenly spoke up as they lay on a sun drenched rock in the middle of the park, watching the people all around them.

"Sure, Holly was skating circles around the three of us while you and I kept trying not to fall over," Deeks looked at her, "why?"

Kensi shrugged. "Just a happy memory I guess. I'm trying to see if they make me feel better."

"Do they?" He turned on his side to look at her.

"A little." She nodded. "How about you?"

"Kinda, mostly I've been thinking about back when Marcus and I worked in the DA's office. Guess I'm trying to connect all the dots."

"And have you?"

He smirked a little and stared up at the clouds. "Not even close."

"Maybe we're not supposed to." She suggested. "It does get easier you know. Eventually."

He nodded, trusting she knew best. After all, she'd done this more times than he had.

"I wish you didn't have so much experience with this." He vocalized his thoughts.

"Me too." She said quietly. "But I know that this time I won't be alone."

He took her hand and squeezed it. "No, you won't."

They both stared up at the sky for a while before he got to his feet and held out his hand to her. She took it and looked at his with questions in her eyes as he pulled her to her feet.

"You won't have to go through this alone Kensi, you won't have to go through anything alone ever again."

Kensi gave him a look. "You better not be proposing to me Deeks, not today."

He shook his head rapidly. "I'm not going to do it today, because frankly I feel like it would just be inappropriate. But I want you to know that I want to marry you Kens." Deeks took her other hand and looked into her eyes. "I love you and I am always going to love you so, yes, when an appropriate amount of time has passed I will get down on one knee and pull out a diamond. But right now, I just want you to know that I love you and I promise that you will always have me."

He wrapped his arms around her in an all-encompassing hug. She loved his hugs, they made her feel safe and protected, like the universe wasn't just a series of painfully random coincidences. She breathed in the scent of his rented suit and his aftershave, loving how if felt in her nose.

"I love you too." She muttered into his chest. They stayed like that for a few more seconds before he broke the connection by taking her hand and slowing walking with her down the path.

"So, just out of curiosity, how long is acceptable before I propose?" He quipped, making her smile.

She scrunched up her face as if she was seriously thinking about it before answering. "Three weeks."

"Three weeks? How about two?" He offered.

"I guess two would work." She nodded. He kissed her cheek as they stopped in front of a street musician with a guitar.

"Care to dance with the pretty girl?" He called. Deeks smiled and looked at Kensi who tossed a few bills into the open case. The musician thanked them and began to expertly pluck at the strings.

As the notes filled the air, Deeks pulled her in close and began lowing dancing around the sidewalk, inspiring a few other couples to join them as the man started in on the lyrics.

**You've got to give a little, take a little**  
**And let your poor heart break a little**  
**That's the story of, that's the glory of love**

**You've got to laugh a little, cry a little**  
**Before the clouds roll by a little**  
**That's the story of, that's the glory of love**

**As long as there's the two of us**  
**We've got the world and all it's charms**  
**And when the world is through with us**  
**We've got each other's arms**

**You've got to win a little, lose a little**  
**And always have the blues a little**  
**That's the story of, that's the glory of love**  
**That's the story of, that's the glory of love**

* * *

**Fin**


End file.
